South Mecklenburg High senior Jada Poe is passionate about many things, but nothing can compare to her love of writing. 

 The 18-year-old is a talented creative writer at South Meck. She works as a teen reporter for The County News and has published several influential op-ed articles. She’s still working on finding her niche but said she sees herself as a political columnist. 

 Jada was also a member of South Meck’s track and field team her freshman and sophomore years.  

Virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t slow Jada down. She has maintained a weighted GPA of 4.1 and focused on earning college credits from Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC). “I took a lot of CPCC courses, especially English courses, that I really liked,” said Jada. 

 “Jada is an outstanding student academically and personally who has exceled in and out of the classroom,” said Principal Marc Angerer. “She is a National Honor Society inductee who has taken several Honors, AP and CPCC courses, which have already earned her several awards and scholarships.”

She also earned a scholarship for a two-week writing internship program at Duke University in Durham.

Jada spends her free time giving back to the community. When she is not busy studying, writing or participating in extracurricular activities, Jada volunteers with the 3RIVE Corporation. At 3RIVE, she attends, plans and executes an annual youth development workshop, secures community involvement and participation for various activities, and mentors youth ages 6-13, providing guidance, motivation, emotional support and role modeling.

Jada plans to attend N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro in the fall and major in English with a minor in journalism and creative writing.

“My dream job after college is to be a writer,” Jada said. “Right now, my focus is on opinion-based writing, but I’m open to exploring different styles, such as screenwriting.”